Turkey - Aug 2009 - Part 2: Gallipoli and Istanbul

Altinkum to Gallipoli
Whilst in Altinkum, we arranged a bus, a company called Metro, up the west coast to Canakkale. Can't say we were really looking forward to the 10-hour bus ride but in the end we were pleasantly surprised. There were 4 staff on the bus... 2 drivers, a bag packer AND a waiter! Within the first hour we'd been served tea/coffee, cake, freshening wipes... couldn't believe the service! The bus did stop every couple of hours so we were able to stretch our legs... though I do believe that Kebab I had at the bus station in Izmir was my downfall!!

One thing that was quite interesting was the rearranging that had to take place in terms of who was sitting where, a solo female traveller couldn't travel next to a male, so a few couples had to split up along the way to accommodate that.

We arrived in Canakkale about 7pm, our hotel was only 100m from where the bus stopped which was great... weren't really in the mood for having to walk to far... and the bellies weren't too crash hot! It was a really busy seaside town though with a completely different atmosphere to Altinkum, menus were still written in a couple of languages, but had a much more cosmopolitan feel.

We had a wander round the town in the evening, noticing lots of reference to "18 Mart 1915" - when 3 English and French navy ships entered the Dardanelles, but were sunk by mines. 3 more were destroyed by guns from the 2 castles on either side of the passage, Canakkale being at the narrowest part of the Dardanelles. So while in Australia we recognise Anzac Day, the 18th of March is a cause for celebration in Turkey, being the start of a successful campain to defend the country from the Allies.

Gallipoli
Next day we joined a tour of the Gallipoli peninsula, visting all the main sites, Anzac Cove, Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and the memorials. Our guide was great, giving insight from both sides of the battle. It was a really moving day, and I could have spent a lot longer there. I think I'm glad I visited outside of the Anzac Day services, it would be a different, though I'm sure just as special, experience.

That evening we had probably the best Turkish meal we had on our whole trip... at a little Pide and Kebap shop about 500m back from the main seafront... Great location too... the open window next to our table was straight onto a petrol station forecourt... Saw 2 lots of women ask the station attendant to use a dash of petrol to clean a mark off their leather hanbags... does that really work?!!

Canakkale to Istanbul
We tried to find some alternative transport to Istanbul... figured there must be a ferry... but the only one available was about a 5hr drive away. Glad we didn't take that option, some people who were on our Anzac Tour tried to do that, but once they got to the port, the ferry was fully booked... so ended up taking them a few days to get to Istanbul. In the end we just took another Metrobus straight from Canakkale to Istanbul.

Same deal as from Altinkum, though even fewer tourists on this route (it's a lot quicker to take a plane from Canakkale, and if you were to book in advance probably wouldn't be too much dearer than the bus)... watched a couple of Turkish movies... the acting was very poor, though apparently it was a comedy... the whole bus was in stitches a lot of the time!

We got a bit confused when the bus stopped at a random bus station on the outskirts of Istanbul... weren't quite sure how were meant to actually get into town... but after finding some people who spoke a little english, we soon found our way to the metro station. All the shop keepers try to barter for your business... I never felt hassled in Istanbul, though it's very different from everywhere else we went in Turkey where you are really left alone.

Couple of trams later we were at Sultanahment... the map I had was pretty terrible, and we weren't 100% sure we were going in the right direct so we stopped and asked a bus driver for directions... so glad I didn't listen to him... he tried to send us in the complete opposite direction! The hotel, though v basic and tiny rooms, was in an excellent location, the rooftop breakfast bar overlooked the Blue Mosque and out to the Marmara Sea - absolutely stunning!

Istanbul
Given we only had a short time in Istanbul after checking in we were straight back out and off to see Topkapi Palace - again, glad we didn't listen to some of the stall holders along the way who tried to tell us it was closed. The Palace was really amazing - particularly due to it's location at the point where the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Marmara Sea all meet.

From there we just started to wander, down to Sirkeci and Eminonu and stumbled across a 10TL cruise which took us along the Bosphorus, under the suspension bridge and back again. It was quite a rocky ride, though we had timed it right on sunset so had magnificent views. We noticed that all the cargo ships had stopped coming through... maybe cause it was peak hour and there were lots of passenger ferries criss-crossing?

Day 2 in Istanbul we tried to squish as much sight-seeing in as possible... Blue Mosque.... Grand Bazaar... but from there we ended up wandering into the local markets where the Bazaar stall holders have mini auctions for goods and the locals are shopping for head scarves etc... found that area a lot more exciting that inside the actual bazaar itself, which was so stifling hot!... Aquaduct... and many stops for drinks and ice-creams along the way.

For dinner we went to an area our hotel recommended, Kumkapi, where there's a whole strip of restaurants overlooking a marina. It's predominantly seafood... pick your fish off a tray... all really really tasty and great to have a change from all the Pide we'd been eating... only problem was the damn cats... they were abolsutely everywhere... wandering around the tables. At one point I dropped my cardigan down next to my legs and jumped a mile cause I thought a cat was walking in between my legs!.... aah... hate cats!

After a couple of very quick days in Istanbul... Matt and I went separate ways... Matt back to the UK for work.. hehe... and I went on to Scandinavia for a bit of a whirlwind tour.